omron

i'm not that fond of the front bumper on my '98. i have looked at body kits, and lorinser offers a nice front bumper. however at £1000 for the bumper and foggies...

i do like the facelift w210 front bumper--> question is, can i retrofit to my 98?

cheers

MARK CUMMINS

The Model Update 2000 to 2002 W210 will NOT fit the Early W210s...
Unless You change the Hood/fenders/bumpers/headlights

Whitey

Carlsson, Wald and Auto Couture makes bumpers that are slight variations of the MY00+ bumpers, suggest getting either of those.

jimmydagreek

Carlsson baby, CARLSSON! Still a bit expensive though. But, Carlsson just opened in Miami, FL. You might try calling them and asking a price, make sure to ask them to include the freight. Good luck...

Whitey

Wald perhaps??????

Whitey

Or three choices of Auto Couture maybe:











mmm, wonder why they don't look as tight as Turbotuners????? Which one is his, anyone know?

Whitey

Last but not least..........

omron

thanks for all the info. a few months ago, i came across a german language website that stocked a bodykit for the w210. i think the name was 'Dezente' or something like that. does this name sound familiar? i never bookmarked the site and have not been able to locate it since. Also, the sills on my 98 are not painted, and it looks cheap. would the sills from a facelifted model bolt on? Lastly im tempted in getting some 18 or 19 inch wheels (moven m16's or if i am feeling rich ATP Benzis), but i know that with bigger wheels on i would need to deck the car to make it look decent. however, i quite like the ride quality on my car, and cant be arsed lowering the car and then loosing ride quality (uk roads are ****). As this car is an avantegarde, it is low'ish at the front, but a total 4x4 at the rear. my intention is to fit AMG springs in the rear. however how much can you lower the vehicle by manipulating the so called 'spring pads'?. Also do you need to re-calibrate the brake bias when you drop the rear end of a w210?


cheers

Whitey

Can't say I've heard about the German site, sorry. Other more common options include Brabus which is just a lip (protrudes the bottom part of the bumper a bit more so that its not as geeky and is quite neat - see pic) or a Carlsson lip (not recommended). A decision must also be made as to whether you want fibre glass or poly urethane - FG will split under impact but can be repaired, whereas PU will have a chance of flexing back to its original shape without the need for repairs (which I proved recently). Different brands are made of different material so make sure you find out what material it is made of.

I had my sills colour coded (i.e. painted) before I got my kit and it was quite OK - looks more "updated" at least. But yes the MY00+ skirts/sills will bolt straight on, as with the 00+ rear bumper (AMG and OEM) - its just the front that's a problem.

I also have an Advantgarde. If your front seems "lowish" it could be they are already shoddy - mine looks high compared with the rears. Changed my wheels to 18" and springs to Eibach - kept the original shocks. Ride quality was not compromised too noticeably but the handling was waaaaay better. It had lowered the car a bit but I found the front seemed to be higher (I have recently been told that's because I did not change the shocks to match the springs - I have posted a thread to confirm this). I went from a #3 pad to a #1 pad in the front to try balance the front and back but not a big difference - I beleive the difference between pads is just millimeters. No re-calibration of the brakes is needed if the lowering is not excessive (1-1 1/2" would be OK) however, if you slam the car, you'll need to install adjustable camber arms to straigthen your wheel alignment to avoid inner tire wear - over to you Jimmy!

BTW, I thought ATP's only come in 17" + an 8" width?

Whitey

How many KMs have you gotm on yours? Mine's the same vintage and running on the same shocks (presumably) and my shcoks were diagnosed as needing replacement (I've only got 39K Km on mine).

jimmydagreek

Whitey is right, you do not need to calibrate anything with the brakes, I've never heard of this no matter how low you go. I am on H&R Sport Springs and Bilstein SP Sport shocks with #2 pad in the rear and #3 pads in the front (going to #2's in the front next week) and everything is perfect. The only thing that I needed to do on mine (differs on every car) was to adjust my rear camber. I was sitting at around -3.2 degrees in the rear alone. I installed adjustable rear camber arms from Speedybenz and now sit at a preferable -1.3, what a difference.

Go ahead and lower your benz and don't worry, just have it done right. For the lowest and softest ride I have tested, IMO it would have to be that achieved from the H&R Cupkit set up. I like my ride a bit more aggressive is why I went the way I did. Just keep surfing this board and you will find a lot of different opinions and products to do what you want to you ride. Good luck and have fun...

omron

Yup ATP do 18's

http://www.bilprodukter.no/bildeside...p06benzis.html

A new wheel shop has opened up nearby and i popped in & asked about Moven alloys or Brabus replicas. He could not help with the Movens etc, but showed me the five lug range for M benz. The Benzis did not really appeal to me at first, but he held one of the wheels against my car and it looked ultra swift. These where 8x18. Prices for 8x18 benzis was £249 ($428 US) per wheel. With 40 profile pirelli £392 per wheel or 40 profile dunlop- £442 per wheel. They did not do an 8.5 or greater for the rear wheels. shame. He did not recommend 19's either as it would cost well over £1000 for four tyres. As it stands i am set to do 4k miles per year, so 19's are still an option. The moven M6 is an attractive choice. 19 x 8.5 costs US$279 per wheel (GB £162) or 18 x 8.5 US $199 (GB £115)

Put another way---> four '19 X 8.5 M6 movens would cost $1116

whereas

Four ATP benzis @ 18 x8 would cost $1714

With the money saved, i could justify the price for 19' tyres.

phew

Another question: My current wheels are 16' and are shod with W rated tyres which are ok up to 168 mph. presumably this is because the cars weighs 1.6-1.7 tons. Do you need W rated tyres on 18-19 inch wheels? I hope not!

Im not a great lover of glass fibre, as in my experience the gel coat forms 'stars' when the gel coat cracks. This has cost me a fortune in replacement body parts in the past. Im very tempted to paint the sills, but i heard that they chip really easily? I reckon I could probably get two sills of a w210 from a scrappy for no more than hundred sheets


bummer about the suspension, as i really like the ride in standard guise. That said it handles like a pregant cow. Guess when i get the wheels, i'll have to lower it.

We put some koni shocks on a mrk2 golf gti and the damm thing hardly dropped. Turned out the 'old' shocks where totally wasted, so it was siting lower on the road as a consequence. I'll get my suspension checked at MB, but its low mileage and i dont think the shocks would be dead after 14k miles of use. i'l get it checked though.

speaking of the brake bias. with some cars, dropping the rear end (sometimes) fools an electronic brain into thinking that the car is stuffed with passengers and luggage. Consequently it sends more braking force to the rear wheels. I have been in a few cars that have nearly crashed as the bias was out. never again!

cheers

Whitey

1) I'm no tire techie but I think the rating depends on the speed you frequently travel, not wheel size. Most people opt for much higher rating tires anyway just in case. I use Y and above rated tires on mine and I rarely go over 120km/h but that's becuz I can't get any lower.

2) Won't chip easily if done correctly, with the right preparation, paint and with a proper "baking" process (not sure how but just make sure you get a good paint shop).

3) Precisely, if not for looks, lowering is worth it for safety reasons. A wobbly feel round bends I bet. Like I said, comfort is not compromised with the right springs and shocks - my Eibach + Advangarde shocks feels great and handles well at high speeds.

4) 14K miles? You sure don't drive alot considering the car's now 5, going 6 years old???

5) That's new to me - u sure its not the driver's technique? But what u said does seem to make some sense.......

Whitey

BTW, those ATP's look good. They are similar to the Brabus IV (with a touch of Lowenhart LD1's) - a classic and proven look on the W210. With those, you wouldn't go wrong as far as looks is concerned. However, I personally wouldn't go below 8 1/2" - handling will definitely be compromised.

If you can get them, the Movens look execellent on the W210 and the size options are definitely better. This is the reason why I didn't opt for ATPs when I searched for wheels. Besides, they're cheaper.

omron

The tyres on my car are W rated (168mph) and i think they are the originals. I simply do not understand this, as it is only a 2.4 and i never drive fast & anyway top speed is not over 140mph? somebody suggested that because the cars weigh alot, they use over rated tyres to compensate i.e. more force acts on the tyres due to weight- so over rated tyres are used.

I was going to buy an E class on import, but they had a 10k mile e240 for £14000 ($24000). 10k miles is nothing, and the salesman advised these cars are not broken in until 40k miles. The previous owner had MS and was unable to drive his car due his disability, even though he had hand controls fitted (thats gone now). Essentially the car sat in a garage for 5 years. the mileage is kept low because it is not my primary car.

Every dropped car i enter, i ask if they have the brake bias adapted. 99.9% of people think im talking marshan. last car i was in that almost crashed was a 398bhp cosworth doing... a silly speed. My mate had to stand on the brakes to avoid an accident. As his car was lowered for fast road use, the bias was out. Its was like someone had yanked the handbrake up. Most people dont realise until its to late. This has happened to me a few times. His car had ABS.

I cant find a technical article on this (strange), but BB performance tuning offers a brake bias adjustment on every suspension kit they offer. Perhaps the reason is because the bias goes out when you drop a car i.e. more braking force hits the rear wheels.

cheers
http://www.bbperformancetuning.co.uk....asp?deptid=82

Whitey

thanks for the info omron, that really does make sense now but then again, I'll never achieve 398bhp or the crazy speeds that go with it - I too have a baby V6 At most mine is up to max 200 now(from a std 170+), if that, but I've never tested mine out. Locking brakes can come in handy when one needs to drift round corners, hee, hee....:p

Whitey

Omron, here's a feast for your eyes - they're like the MY00+ only miles hotter ! Dang, that's one white hot ride .Kleemann, I believe:

E55 KEV

I still think the best looking front spoiler for 96-1999 W210 is the AMG version. You can get it at any dealer.

omron

that bumper is just sex. sorry but it is. it looks very similar to the bumper on the renntech EV 12, but i could not find any info at renntechs website. thats the one, thx whitey!. I found that german website i was banging on about, it is

http://www.mh-dezent.de/frames/index.htm

Heres the rear bumper spoiler i quite fancy. Are those lights 99+?I dont think i have ever seen them before...



E55 Kev. I aggree the AMG bumper is superb, and the last E55 AMG i saw, my jaw just dropped when i saw it. However that kleeman...

Coolwheels do ship to the UK, and i am now waiting for them to tell me about what tyres come with there tyre package and what profile rubber etc.

oh yeah, does that white benz look as it its got flared arches on the rear?


cheers

omron

i cant find a website for kleeman or any vendors. any links or info for kleeman?

cheers

E55 KEV

You are missing an 'n'. It is Kleemann:

www.kleemann.dk

That Renntech kit does have flared fenders. Sorry, but the RennTech W210 conversion can only be done in their Florida USA facility. They will not ship it.

omron

cheers kev

michakaveli

So you can't buy that front bumper unless you drop off your E in FL and get the whole kit? That front bumper looks just as sweet as the Carlsson.

omron

as always im confused.

Is this bumper renntech or kleemann?



cheers

jimmydagreek

Wow, that looks sweet!